


To Do Some Navigating

by anruiukimi



Series: The Sun Cannot Wait [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: AU bullshit, Almost!Dad Cor, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Boys Being Boys, Family Fluff, Fix-It, Fluff, M/M, Sappy, i just want everyone to be happy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-12 04:20:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11154120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anruiukimi/pseuds/anruiukimi
Summary: Nyx was at his wit’s end. Between him becoming the new captain of the Kingsglaive (paperwork!) and him constantly running into Cor everywhere, he was about ready to do...something. He didn’t know what, but if the marshal kept giving him looks and little touches that didn’t seem to be going anywhere for much longer, there were going to be issues.This is part of the The Sun Cannot Wait series, and the main story should probably be read first before this one. :)Update 12/7/2017 - Added a wonderful illustration to the end of the story, the artist has asked that they remain anonymous. Thank you, wonderful person! <3





	To Do Some Navigating

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this whole thing in a twenty-four hour period, which might be a record for me. xD
> 
> While I left the main story pretty general, with no real romance besides some tension, some of these short stories are going to get a bit more...not. Fair warning! If you want to stick exclusively to the gen fics, you'll have to reread the main story for now. While there is some M/E-rated concepts mentioned in this, nothing is explicitly stated. 
> 
> Heck, 90% of this one is pretty much gen, if you want to read it and stop when it's not, it's a pretty blatant event. xD
> 
> \----
> 
> Title is from the song I Won't Give Up, and like the rest of the series soundtrack, you can find the version I'm using in the playlist! 
> 
> YouTube Fic Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkuJz76Y5yxk3aud4LTz5GHSnpaIvy5Nl 
> 
> I went rare-pair up in this, I had decided about halfway through the main story that I was going for Nyx/Cor in the long run; while Nyx has his issues, I think he’s probably a bit better adjusted in some ways then the been-in-the-military-since-puberty Cor, who strikes me as a little isolated sometimes. I liked the idea, I figured they could be good for each other, and it spiraled from there. :3 That’s what fic is for, right?
> 
> EDIT: Confirmed at the FFXV Osaka event that he's actually 32. YAY. I was worried if I had made him that old, I'd get complaints xD So I've tweaked one line in this to fit.
> 
> Nyx’s age appears to be a matter of debate. Some people think him in the 23-25 range, some research by others seems to have him closer to 30. Due to the fact that Johan Akan would have been around 31 or so when they used his likeness made me sway solidly towards the latter than the former. Nyx just doesn’t look that young to me, and I’m not saying that because I’m around the same age as his model. xD I also decided to steal Mr. Akan’s birthday for Nyx, which made him a bit more poetic, entirely by accident.
> 
> Also, it’s not mentioned, but I peg Libertus as around 2-3 years older than Nyx, again, mostly due to the fact that his actor would have been around 36 or so when he did his part for the movie.
> 
> If anyone wants to chat or look at my silly posts, you can find me on Tumblr: http://rocproductions.tumblr.com/

**to do some navigating**

 

Nyx was at his wit’s end. Ever since Cor Leonis, the fucking herald of the Dawn Mother, had been released from the infirmary, mostly better but still a bit under the weather, they had been constantly in each other’s presence. The king had asked him to be the acting captain of the Kingsglaive, and he would have turned him down flat if he had realized what that _really_ meant.

Paperwork.

Tons and tons of paperwork. Nyx was seriously tempted to go throttle Drautos in his cell and ask how he handled the paperwork from _two_ different armies, let alone one, because he sure as shit didn’t know how to handle everything they were putting in front of him. He had actually gone to see Cor his first day back at work, and couldn’t even see the man behind the epic stack of paper on _his_ desk. Not the most glorious place setting for a divinely blessed being, he had thought absently at the time. Nyx had stood there, trying to decide whether to say anything, until a suspicious sound reached his ears.

“Did you fall asleep back there?” A snore followed by the stack wobbling precariously answered him, and he was forced to beat a retreat before he burst out laughing and the marshal killed him on principle.

From then on, they had ran into each other at meetings, in the hallways, in Prompto’s room in the infirmary; they ran into each other _everywhere._ A little part of him still had that born and bred Galahdian awe for being in the presence of one of the Dawnsworn, but even as he watched the man travel from place to place in a blink of an eye, those sky blue eyes always flashing with power after he did so, he realized that Cor really was just...Cor. A man with many names, many titles, even many abilities, but in the end still a man.

Nyx had thought he had gotten over the marshal almost ten years prior when he had first joined the Kingsglaive; he had remembered turning to Luche (fucking traitor) not two weeks after arriving as they watched the marshal spar with Lord Amicitia in the training room, and wondering who he was looking at. When Luche had enlightened him, he had nearly stroked out on the spot. The Immortal’s exploits were legend, even in Galahd, and to see him in real life?

If only he had known then what he knew now. The more he was around Cor, the more he could see just how fucking awkward he could be with human interaction that wasn’t based around work. Even with Prompto he occasionally seemed lost, but the kid was so busy soaking up any parental scrap of attention that he could get that Cor managed to bumble through with him, at least. It also made Nyx want to find their voice of the sunshine’s parents and introduce them to some old school Galahdian justice for just abandoning Prompto when he could have used their support the most, but he knew that it wouldn’t go over well. How in the hell did such absentee parents end up having such a sweet kid in the first place was beyond him, but Prompto was theirs now. They could go jump in a lake for all he cared.

Cor didn’t seem to know what to do with him, either. For the first few weeks, most conversation was a bit stilted, the marshal a picture of stoic reserve unless Prompto was brought up, and even then, it was never a long conversation. But _slowly, slowly,_ Cor started talking to him for a little longer, offering suggestions and advice, even just talking about general goings on occasionally. It was nice, but it also was starting to lead to a confused sense of anticipation that seemed to be going nowhere.

Then there was the touching. As far as Nyx could tell, Cor was not a touchy-feely type of guy. He was physically demonstrative with Prompto to a point, with the occasional hug and whatnot, but with anyone else? Not in the slightest. But as time progressed, there would be a hand on his shoulder here, a clasp around his arm there, even an occasional pat to the back, and Nyx was really starting to wonder if the herald was going somewhere with all the contact. But even after Prompto’s official introduction to the world, and Nyx would never hear a bad thing about that kid as long as he lived, not after he got to see his sister one more time thanks to him, things still bumbled along pretty much the same as before. The princess-oracle of Tenebrae headed home at the end of July, not long after Prompto had sung to the city, and things got just a bit more quiet in her wake.

Then Nyx handed over his old family copy of the Book of the Dawn, and things got a little strange. Prompto actually started reading it first, laughing over the flowery language that had stood as the proper translation at the time, hell, some of the terminology used wasn’t even in the modern vernacular anymore, and then he had reached the parts about the characteristics of the Dawnsworn.

The emails that he got from Prompto were almost painful to read, and he could never show them to anyone else without wanting to kill himself from the shame of leaking them. It had turned out that the Dawn Mother had brushed over the more...peacetime oriented parts of their position while emphasizing the saving the world part.

**P: This is all legends, right? Translators taking some liberties over the millennia?**

**N: Oh hell, kid, she didn’t tell you any of this? The whole symbols of fertility part is central to the whole thing, the Dawnsworn were often called upon to help with the harvest.**

**P: There’s a whole lot of other kinds of harvesting and fertility being mentioned in here, Nyx, and they are thinking of publishing this for the general audience? Really? I don’t think I’m comfortable with anyone else seeing this :( Although this explains a few things, and no, I’m not elaborating**

**N: I’m sorry, Prompto, I honestly didn’t know that you were unaware of the whole fertility bit, otherwise I would have warned you**

A sudden, utterly horrific thought came to mind, and while he hated to put Prompto in such a spot, he had to know-

**N: I hate to ask, but do you think that Cor is aware of this?**

**P: Oh shit yeah I reeeeally doubt it**

...and yeah, that’s what he thought.

Nyx wasn’t unobservant, he had been kicking around the Citadel for close to ten years, and regarding the marshal, there was some universal truths. One, as Gladiolus had pointed out not that long ago, most of the building really did want Cor, or at least had wanted him at some point or another in their tenure, and point two, as far as Nyx could tell, Cor really wasn’t all that interested. There had been rumors of a few short-lived relationships in the past, but if they had happened, they were definitely _very_ short lived. He supposed it was possible that the man was getting action somewhere else, but for all of his ability to pop from one place to another, the marshal was always in the building, and usually in his office. His whereabouts were usually easily discernable at any given time, and considering Nyx ran into him constantly, if Cor really was seeing someone, he was a complete expert at hiding it. Maybe he just wasn’t interested? But Nyx found that really unlikely, considering that the Dawnsworn were _always_ symbols of virility and fertility, but he supposed there could be an exception to the rule. There had been twenty five hundred years between them and the last pair, maybe the goddess had given him a break.

Then Prompto gave him a heads up that he had given the book to Cor. Almost overnight, Cor went from at least talking to him to pretty much avoiding every person of Galahdian descent in the building, himself included. Any attempt to talk about anything outside of actual work ended up with a weak excuse and Cor exiting stage right on the spot, or, in one memorable case with a very confused Libertus, actually just vanishing mid-conversation.

Yup, he definitely hadn’t known. Nyx was almost positive that Cor would be having a very awkward conversation with the Dawn Mother at some point, if he hadn’t already. Unfortunately, it got so obvious who the marshal was avoiding that Nyx found himself being summoned to the king’s office. For the first time since everything had gone down, going before the king felt more like he was back in school and he had just gotten caught ditching with Libertus again, with an unamused king looking at him over his reading glasses, and a blank-faced Amicitia sitting in his usual chair just off to the side.

“What in the hell is going on with the marshal, Ulric?” the king demanded, and Nyx could feel himself sweating. Part of him wanted to make up some bullshit, save Cor the embarrassment that was the actual fucking truth, but he couldn’t think of a damn thing that wouldn’t make things worse. Lord Amicitia’s eyebrows arched upwards as he dithered and he finally just spit it out.

“I lent Prompto and the marshal my copy of the Book of the Dawn, your majesty. Unfortunately, they found out some things about the abilities of the Dawnsworn that the Dawn Mother appeared to have skipped over, probably because she was focusing on the saving the world part, and well, I think he didn’t take some of the revelations in the book very well,” he finished with a mumble, and both king and shield’s eyes narrowed.

“Come again?” The two spoke in stereo, and Nyx could feel himself sweating even more.

“I thought they already knew, so I didn’t bring it up when I gave the kid the book, and then Prompto started emailing me, and then I-” The king held up a hand, cutting him off.

“Ulric, what are you going on about?” Oh, fuck it.

“Neither of them knew about the whole fertility and virility aspects of the Dawnsworn, and, uh, well, while I think Prompto is handling it okay, at least on the surface, Cor seems to have decided to avoid the subject altogether by avoiding everyone who would have possibly read about it already. So, basically, he’s really embarrassed. I don’t know how else to say it. As far as I know, no one has done anything untoward, so as far as I know, uh, yeah. Embarrassed,” Nyx finished lamely, and this time it was Amicitia who held up a hand.

“Back up, what was that about fertility and whatnot?” Amicitia asked, and Nyx’s gaze fixed solely on a fetching painting of a long-dead queen on the wall behind the lot of them.

“I was really hoping you wouldn’t ask me that. Basically, ah, um.” Nyx rubbed at his temples as a headache began to take up residence, and sighed. “Look, there’s at least thirty pages of magical sacred sex rituals and other related material in the book, let alone the stuff focusing specifically on the chosen as individuals. It’s usually the first thing hormonal pubescent Galahdians read when they are finally tall enough to grab the book down from the top most shelf their parents inevitably put it on for this very reason. I think we all just assumed they knew about it already. It’s not like the rituals are required, but they are...there,” Nyx sighed again, and finally forced himself to meet the king’s eyes.

“This is that book that is going to be released here in Insomnia soon, correct?” the king asked somewhat faintly, and Nyx nodded. Lord Amicitia looked torn between dying of laughter and actual concern, giving him the strangest twisted expression. Nyx really didn’t blame him.

“For what it’s worth, I’d probably be pretty flustered too if I had just discovered that I was supposed to be practically a fertility demi-god of sorts. Prompto is young, and seems to be far more outgoing and openminded on this sort of thing, and no, I’m not making any assumptions on his relationship status, just his personality. Cor, on the other hand…” Amicitia snorted.

“I could tell you stories of all the things that _didn’t_ happen on the road over the last thirty years, Ulric, because that’s how uninterested in such things Cor has been. There’s been no shortage of beautiful people throwing themselves at him over the years, and while he’s not been immune to them, as far as I know, the man has pretty much no sex drive. I think he’s experimented a bit, but he’s said nothing on the matter. To hear you say that he’s supposed to be some sort of paragon of virility, fertility, _whatever_ is a bit of a laugh, I’ll be honest.” The king looked two seconds from just slamming his own head into his very nice desk, and Lord Amicitia kept chuckling awkwardly under his breath. Both were understandable reactions, as far as Nyx was concerned.

“I don’t know if we should talk to him or not, in the light of our discussion here,” the king said, and Nyx shrugged.

“You two have known him for over thirty years, so you would know better than I would. I’ll tell the others to not take it personally until he figures out how to handle what he’s learned,” Nyx commented, and to his relief, both the king and Amicitia nodded.

“Probably best. We’ll leave it alone for now.”

...and that was that. Cor still avoided everyone for a while, but slowly, surely, he seemed to realize that the Galahdians weren’t suddenly treating him differently, and eventually returned to normal. Which meant the frustratingly vague touching thing was back on the menu.

Nyx was doomed.

The prince’s twenty-first birthday came and went, a joyous celebration that definitely doubled as the _hurray we all survived the possible end of the world_ party for the city, and Nyx spent the party alternating between chatting with the birthday boy and his ever-present posse or hanging out with the perpetual stoic wallflower that was Cor Leonis. The boys, though, they were an interesting watch. While he may not always catch everything, and while they were also pretty good about not letting the king or Lord Amicitia see, there was some _seriously_ heavy looks going on between the four of them. Well, if even half of the stuff in the book about the libido of one of the Dawnsworn was accurate, maybe the kid having three boyfriends may just be perfect for him.

Cor just looked at them like they were a puzzle he needed to solve. Nyx was honestly uncertain if Cor suspected that the four of them were together like he did, or if the older man was having one giant _Does Not Compute_ in their general direction. But with the evening ending with the two of them leaning against each other on the far side of the room talking about nothing and everything, it had been a good party.

The days continued on, the balmy summer transforming to fall, and still nothing really changed. Nyx accepted the permanent post as captain, with Pelna and Crowe teasing him mercilessly about how he was the last person they expected as the responsible boss type. Libertus just smirked at him. A lot.

The detained Glaives, one by one, were sentenced; out of the thirty seven, only ten actually received any decent jail time, with Luche Lazarus utmost among them. Turns out he had been sent to assassinate whoever had been sent to fetch the princess, not knowing that Cor had been able to teleport himself halfway across the world before he had even gotten to the place he was supported to do the deed. He had also admitted to a few other removals (read: murders) of people Drautos needed gone. It was Cor who told him quietly that Drautos had suggested Crowe for the Tenebrae job, and Nyx had been forced to take a moment before he went down and killed Drautos himself. The other nine had also admitted to other crimes that would see them in prison for a very long time. Eighteen of them had received no jail time, and were, as a group, cashiered from the Kingsglaive and expelled from the city, forbidden to re-enter for at least twenty years. The remaining nine had been found culpable for smaller offenses, and were also cashiered, receiving short jail stints that would also follow, in all but a few cases, with removal from the city. By the beginning of October, only Drautos was left to try. Nyx was really glad that except for occasional testimony, he had nothing to do with any of it.

Occasionally he would see Cor looking at _him_ like a puzzle, those ever-intense eyes burrowing into him before sliding away, and Nyx was _so_ done. Even Prompto was starting to give him understanding looks, and if the young man who was effectively the adoptive son of the guy who was driving him crazy was giving him sympathy, he knew he was fucked.

Then the subject of Prompto’s birthday rolled around. The prince had wanted to throw a big party for his friend, the king felt it was only appropriate that one of the big heroes of the day was honored appropriately, and Nyx was receiving messages and emails from the Galahdian sector wanting to know if _they_ could throw the voice of the dawn a birthday party. Suddenly Prompto, who hadn’t had a party any bigger than a small gathering of friends in years, from what he understood, was suddenly the most popular person in town.

Nyx had found the voice having a near-meltdown in _his_ office, of all places, and it had taken a shot of something horrid that he had been gifted by an old neighbor of his to finally get the kid to calm down.

“Do you want me to call Cor? Or one of the boys?” Nyx barely got a word in between sniffles, but a firm shake of the blond’s head told him no. “Is this about all the craziness over your birthday?” Prompto’s face crumpled up again, and Nyx quickly moved to pat the kid on the back before he could start again. “Can I ask what your specific problem is?” Prompto frowned as he wiped away the tears on his cheeks.

“It sounds horrible, but everyone keeps talking about this party idea, and you also told me that the Galahdians want to throw me a party too, and all I can think is why? No one outside of a few people cared before, and now everyone seems to...that’s not-” Prompto swallowed heavily, and Nyx waited for the young man to finish. “It’s too much. I’d like a party, don’t get me wrong, it sounds like fun and I’ve never really had one before, but this sounds more like a giant social obligation that’s the opposite of fun. Maybe I could just go visit the Galahdians around my birthday? No party, just go say hi?” Those giant amethyst-blue eyes pinned him down. “Do you think that would be okay?” Nyx sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose, which inexplicably caused Prompto to burst out laughing, which he would take in a heartbeat instead of overwhelmed and crying Prompto, even if it was targeted at him.

“What?” Nyx grumbled, and the adorable little shit just laughed at him further.

“You realize you totally picked that up from Cor, right?” Prompto snorted, and Nyx froze. Oh shit, he was right. Damn it.

“To answer your question, yes, I’m sure they’d be honored for you to drop in anytime, Prompto. No need for anything formal. As for the main party thing, you’ve gotta talk to your dad, er, Cor, and probably the prince as well. I don’t have anything to do with the planning of that, but I know they wouldn’t want you to be uncomfortable, you just need to talk to them,” Nyx stated, and the look on Prompto’s face was like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds.

“Yeah, you’re right. I just didn’t want to disappoint anyone, I guess. Thank you, Nyx, I really appreciate it.” Prompto got to his feet smoothly, the hesitancy of the past few months pretty much gone, which the whole Citadel was thrilled about. No one liked seeing the normally bouncy kid hobbling around like an old man. Just as Prompto was about to step through the doorway, he paused. “You do realize you called Cor my dad, right?” he asked, his voice odd, and Nyx gave the kid a knowing look.

“Am I wrong?” Prompto’s answering grin could have brought the dawn on its own, and Nyx returned to his desk with the overwhelming pride of a job well done.

The party was subsequently calmed down to a short invite-only tea in the early afternoon, followed by a more intimate affair in the evening. Prompto and Cor were tentatively penciled in to go visit Little Galahd with Nyx the following weekend, and things were looking up. Drautos’ trial was going smoothly, the Kingsglaive actually had some new recruits that Nyx and the rest of the oldies were starting to train, and the last vestiges of imperial troops in Galahd had been forced out not a week prior. Life was looking better and better every day.

Nyx didn’t go to the tea in the afternoon, as it was clearly more focused on letting a carefully screened selection of media and the who’s who of Insomnia come see the voice of Eos in a controlled setting for a short period of time, and from the few texts he received from Crowe, who had finagled her way into the affair, it went off without a hitch. Prompto was his usual friendly and bubbly self the entire time, and seemed to enjoy taking photos with the various celebrities that had come to see him. So far, so good.

The actual birthday party started in the evening, with food, presents, and an enormous cake that looked like it could feed all in attendance at least twice over, and Prompto bounced from place to place, sometimes literally, as he took the whole affair in with a wistful childlike glee that made everyone in the room smile, even Cor. Nyx had dug into the wonderful buffet with a happy sigh, chatting with everyone as he stuffed his face with a little too much glee.

“You get enough to eat?” Nyx jerked as Cor sat down next to him, a plate of food in his hands and humor in his eyes, and he physically had to look away before he said something he would regret.

“Never, the kitchens outdid themselves for this. Roll me out after the party is over, I’ll work it off in training tomorrow,” he said, and Cor snorted something that could be called a laugh next to him.

“I hear I have you to thank for getting Prompto to finally speak up about the nonsense that his birthday party was turning into,” Cor commented between bites, and Nyx finally looked back over to him. Cor was actually in civvies, which was a rare occurrence, with jeans and a button up shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up his forearms topped with a deep blue sweater vest, of all things. It actually worked perfectly on the man. Nyx wanted to eat him for dessert. “Nyx?” Cor nudged Nyx’s knee with his own.

“Ah, well, he came to my office a bit...distraught, we talked things over for a few minutes and it seemed to help him feel better. That’s all I can claim,” he stated awkwardly, and they both set back to eating for a few minutes before Cor finally raised his head again.

“Thank you, Nyx,” Cor said, those light blue eyes flashing as he spoke, and Nyx shook his head and leaned back on the sofa, his plate on his knees.

“I’m happy to help, Cor. Anytime.” The two sat in silence together as Prompto circulated the party, the blond pretty much being fed by Gladiolus, who was stuffing bites in his mouth in between conversations. It was both hilarious and adorable all at the same time, and a quick glance at Cor showed that he was just as amused, even if it was all in his eyes. Cake and presents came soon after, and Nyx had no doubt that the birthday boy was going to have to be poured into bed after all this was over. For the lack of a better idea, he had picked up a Galahdian necklace for Prompto as a birthday gift, a much smaller version of the one Libertus almost never took off. Luckily, the kid seemed to legitimately love it, throwing it over his head immediately and scrambling over to give him a hug in thanks, which he gladly returned; he only realized Cor was behind him when he felt a warm hand at the base of his spine after Prompto had returned to opening his presents.

“Well, he seemed to like it,” Cor stated blandly, and Nyx was still so thrown by Cor being so close that he only managed a nod as he turned back to Prompto boggling at the unbelievably large chocobo plush, no, that was a chocobo _beanbag chair_ , that had been given to him by Pelna, of all people. Cor stepped away as Prompto charged towards Pelna, who was standing right behind them, and it was a close call for Nyx not being clotheslined by the excitable blond, who _did_ manage to knock Pelna flat, so that was a plus.

After gifts were open and cake had been fully distributed, Prompto had, as Nyx had predicted, completely conked out, draped over the prince and Scientia’s laps and snoring quietly regardless of how noisy the rest of the party was. A quick look around found Cor slipping outside, and Nyx, against both his sanity and better judgement, decided to follow. Cor was leaning on the handrail of the balustrade framing in the balcony, and Nyx walked up to him with a smile.

“Well, tonight appears to have been a success, the birthday boy is snoring away his adrenaline crash, and the weather is perfect. Are we still on for Little Galahd next weekend? It’ll be nice to show you two around-” Nyx trailed off as he realized that Cor was just standing there _looking_ at him, and Nyx’s last straw was _gone_ right then and there. “Look, Cor, what do you want from me?” he said bluntly, facing Cor head on, and the older man’s eyes went as wide as he had ever seen them, his mouth actually dropping open. “We’ve been doing this for awhile now, and I’m honestly stumped as to what you actually want.” Nyx sighed, a wry smile coming to his face. “Do _you_ even know what you want?”

Cor, being the legendary marshal of the Crownsguard, the so-called Immortal, and the herald of the Dawn Mother, bravely started backing away from Nyx, clearly trying to scoot towards the doors back inside, and Nyx wasn’t having any of it. He moved to the side, cutting off Cor’s original path of escape, and waited to see if he would just teleport out of there. To his shock, Cor didn’t, instead stopping a few feet away from the wall and looking between Nyx and the floor, his face pale, but his cheeks were flushed with a somewhat blotchy touch of pink that Nyx found unbelievably endearing, and made the age difference between them all but vanish. Nyx walked up to him, standing only a foot away, and looked up at the older man with a soft smile.

“Well?” At this angle, he got a direct view of Cor’s adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed several times, still not speaking, and finally, Nyx sighed once more. “You really are hopeless, aren’t you?” he muttered, then reached up, wrapped his hands around the back of the marshal’s head, and pulled him down for a kiss.

There was a terrifying moment where Nyx thought that maybe he had been looking at this all wrong, no matter how many touches and looks he had been getting over the past few months, but then Cor gasped into his mouth, and it was all over. The next conscious thought Nyx had was him pushing the larger man against the wall as he deepened the kiss; Cor’s arms wrapped around his waist, leaving Nyx plastered against Cor. He would never get enough of the taste of the man, his scent- then Cor groaned, giving a full body shudder, and Nyx almost died on the spot. He hadn’t even noticed that Cor had hitched one of those long legs around the back of his until then, and he let his lips trail down Cor’s jaw, his throat, his neck-

“As I am the only one left in the room that’s not either drunk, trapped, or asleep, I get to be the fucking voice of reason and tell you two, and thank you, the tension passed ridiculous two months ago, to get a fucking room. I’m too young for this shit, I’ve literally known you since I was born, Cor, my innocent eyes can’t take it.” Gladiolus just sounded smug despite what he was actually saying, and Nyx barked out a surprised laugh into the marshal’s shoulder as the taller man thumped his head into the marble of the wall with an embarrassed groan. “You know, for a guy that can poof a hundred miles away instantly, you don’t seem to be using your abilities to the best of your abilities, marshal.” The glare that Cor shot Gladiolus promised pain in the future, but only a second later saw them both standing in a room Nyx did not recognize, and Cor failing at steadying him as they tumbled together onto the couch they had luckily materialized next to. Nyx found himself sitting on the prone Cor’s lap, and grinned nervously, but could not bring himself to move. Then Cor reached up with a hand and cupped his jaw, the drag of his thumb across his cheek making him shiver.

“You’re right, I am hopeless,” the older man said quietly, and Nyx froze. “I don’t have a lot of experience with this sort of thing, relationships just never worked out in the past, and I had pretty much given up. Then I read that damn book, and I thought...I don’t know what I thought. But then I had an incredibly awkward conversation with the goddess-” Nyx started laughing, he didn’t mean to, but the fact that he had been right on the money with his earlier hypothesis… -and she basically told me that it was pretty much all true in some form, and apologized for not saying anything earlier, but that she had been positive that I would have turned her down flat all those years ago had she mentioned it,” Cor sighed, and Nyx managed to get his laughing under control as he slid back and let the other man sit up. “She was probably right.”

“You didn’t realize that we all read that as both hormonal kids and as adults years ago, Cor. We all assumed you were well aware of those aspects of the position, so to speak, and let me tell you, it was difficult trying to tell a bunch of my fellow Galahdians that no, they hadn’t offended you, you were just working through some shit without telling them the actual reason,” Nyx chuckled, leaning over and fitting his brow to Cor’s. “There’s nothing to be ashamed about, herald. You are what you are, and it is entirely up to you how you use that which has been given to you.” Hands travelled up the back of his neck and tangled with his hair, and Nyx couldn’t suppress a shudder of his own.

“It took me a little while to realize that for myself, and for that, I apologize. I know I was avoiding you for awhile there,” Cor said softly, their mouths only inches apart; Nyx gave a tiny shake of his head and smiled.

“I knew you would figure it out, you just needed time.” Nyx leaned in the last few inches and recaptured Cor’s lips, and for a time, the two traded lazy kisses on the sofa as they slowly sank back into the cushions, Nyx laying completely on top of the other man. In the background, a clock struck eleven faint chimes, and he sighed, letting his head fall to the curve of Cor’s neck. “I should probably go.” Strong arms tightened around his back.

“You don’t have to,” Cor said, and Nyx pushed himself back up, his hands braced on Cor’s chest.

“Aren’t we too old to be falling asleep on the sofa?” he commented, and Cor snorted, sitting up and gently pushing Nyx off of his legs.

“We? I’m too old to be falling asleep on the sofa, I don’t even remember how old you are, except that it’s probably far younger than I should be consorting with,” Cor grumbled, and Nyx laughed at the failed attempt at the old man routine, poking at the older man’s side.

“To answer your not-question, I turned thirty-two the day we fucked an astral’s shit up, it was the best birthday gift ever.” Cor froze next to him, wide eyes meeting his.

“You’re serious.” Nyx nodded.

“As serious as Prompto singing the dead back to life.” Cor got to his feet and gave a full body stretch that turned his body into a very appealing s-curve for a moment, then turned back to Nyx.

“Next year you need a better birthday than a giant battle on your doorstep, Nyx. Wait until I tell Prompto, he’ll have a fit-” Nyx groaned, getting to his feet and wrapping an arm around the other man’s waist.

“Please don’t,” he implored, but Cor only rolled his eyes down at him and started walking towards the other end of the apartment, the low light keeping Nyx right up with him to avoid tripping over anything.

“Are you going to stay?” Cor whispered, and Nyx ran a hand down Cor’s cheek.

“Only if you want me to.”

For a man who had been, by his own admission, single for the vast majority of his life, his incredibly comfortable-looking king-sized bed was a welcome surprise as Nyx stripped down to his underwear, throwing his clothes into a convenient chair then tumbled into the bed face first, sighing happily.

“Do you and my bed need some time alone, Nyx?” Cor drawled, and Nyx only just resisted flipping him off as he rolled onto his back, only for his mouth to go dry as the marshal followed his lead, also stripping to his underwear and sliding into bed. Nyx was suddenly completely positive that this was both the best and worst idea he had ever had, but there was no turning back now. Nyx slid over to Cor and gave him one more kiss, then reached down and grabbed the blankets, pulling them over the both of them and settling in with a happy sigh.

When Nyx woke up the next morning with Cor wrapped around him like he was his favorite toy, the older man _definitely_ not drooling onto his chest, Nyx decided that it was definitely the best idea he had ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> So in many versions of Eos/Eoster/Hausos, there’s generally a component of fertility/spring/harvest there, and I couldn’t help myself. 8D (There’s a kink I’m not acknowledging there ::coughcough:: ) But still no smut, I’m undecided if I’m going to do that or not at this point.
> 
> Basically, the idea of the Book of the Dawn is of a very old translated and retranslated holy book from Solheim that speaks on the history and characteristics of the Dawn Mother and her Dawnsworn, and various rituals and practices thereof. As happens with any religious practice, things change or fall out of favor over time, and even in Galahd, who kept the only known copies of it after Eos stopped being worshiped in the rest of the world, there’s parts of the book that are considered more legend than truth. The problem for poor Cor is that he read everything, was basically was completely overwhelmed by all the wackiness, and nearly had a coronary. He didn’t stop to think that this was stuff their Very Distant Predecessors had done, not stuff that would necessarily be done in the modern world. Prompto handled it better, mainly because he’s two seconds from falling into bed with his boyfriend(s,) and honestly, he found a lot of it kinda funny. He also figured that a lot of it was more legend than not, and if it was true? Well, er, yeah.


End file.
